Riesling

When people tell me they don’t like Riesling, I usually ask them how many they’ve tried rather than, “Why?” The world of Riesling is a large and complex one. Even if you’ve tried several, that might be too few.

A large number of the world’s most prominent wine critics regard Riesling as the world’s finest white wine grape, comparing it to Cabernet Sauvignon for its ability to express the place where it’s grown, as well as its capacity to age. A well-made Riesling can easily age 20 years or more. No rush to drink it!

All Riesling is not, as many think, sweet. The fact is, most of the Riesling produced around the world is dry or off-dry, rather than sweet. So, if you only like dry wines, finding a Riesling you like should not be a difficult task. For those who prefer wine with more muted fruit notes, finding one you like might be a more challenging (but hardly daunting) task.

Germany is the birthplace of Riesling, and there are few who would argue that the best Rieslings in the world come from somewhere other than Germany. German Rieslings are typically among the most intensely fruity expressions of this grape, but, equally important, they display a racy acidity seldom found in any varietal anywhere. Even the sweet ones finish with a remarkably cleansing crispness.

Navigating German Riesling can be challenging. However, you can’t really know whether you like Riesling if you’ve never tried a good German Riesling. So…let’s talk about the terms found on German Riesling labels. Understanding them will steer you to the ones you like.

Perhaps one of the most important, especially if you only like dry wines, is Trocken – which literally means “dry.” If this word appears on the label, the wine inside the bottle will be bone dry.

Grosses Gewächs and Erstes Gewächs (in Rheingau) translate as “grab your wallet.” OK, that’s a joke…sort of. Literally translating as “great growth,” it is the German equivalent of Grand Cru or First Growth (terms which also translate as “grab your wallet”). These wines are the product of the best grapes from the best vineyard sites, but, relevant to our discussion here, these wines are always dry.

Feinherb doesn’t translate precisely, but it closely approximates what you find in many Extra Dry Champagnes – namely, just enough sweetness to accentuate the fruit notes and enhance the balance. Ultimately, while it’s not sweet – neither is it dry.

Alte Reben appears on many labels and translates into the familiar term “old vines.” Because older vines tend to produce berries with more concentrated fruit character, wines so-labeled will reflect the additional intensity, but the term does not relate to sweetness.

Finally, we come to the terms Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA). These terms apply to the weight of the must (listed here from lowest to highest). Essentially the longer the grapes ripen, the higher the must weight and the higher the residual sugar (Spätlese, for instance translates as “late-harvest”). This suggests that a Spätlese will be sweeter than a Kabinett, and an Auslese will be sweeter than a Spätlese. While this is generally true, if your Spätlese is a Trocken Spätlese or a Spätlese Feinherb, it will be drier than a Kabinett. So…be careful.

Come browse our shelves for many outstanding Rieslings but keep these highly rated (92+) examples in mind: Selbach-Oster Zeltinger-Sonnenuhr 2015 Auslese or 2017 Spätlese Feinherb Ur-Alte Reben or 2017 Zeltinger-Schlossberg Spätlese (WS-95, 94, 93 & under $30). Or try Spreitzer Hendelberg 2014 Rheingau Riesling Trocken (WS-92). More to come on Riesling… Cheers!